BHA Sets Date for Community Day
Author:
Megan Butler
The British Horseracing Authority has announced that Racing Together Community Day will return on May 25th. The annual event invites all involved in the sport to lend their free time to good causes and help their local communities. Last month, the racing body revealed plans to boost prize money for more than sixty novice and maiden races this year.
Racing Together is hopeful that this year’s Community Day will be its best yet.
?RODNAE Productions/Pexels
Call for Volunteers
The BHA has revealed that this year’s Racing Together Community Day will take place on Thursday, May 25th. It has called on individuals working across the industry to give up a portion of their spare time for good causes. Speaking on behalf of Racing Together, CEO John Blake expressed his hopes for this year’s event. Blake stated:
“We’re pleased to announce this year’s date for the popular Racing Together Community Day and hope to build on last year’s efforts, which engaged 65 racing organisations and gave us wonderful stories of racing teams helping out at food banks, hospices, local community areas and much more.”
Community Day will see employees from British racing volunteer for their local communities. While proving that it can be fun to give back, the day also serves to showcase the benefits of working in racing and inspire both racing staff and communities. This year’s event will mark the fifth year that the initiative has taken place.
Racing Together’s Community Day will support a wide variety of good causes, from caring for retired racehorses to environmental clean-ups and careers days. The day’s events will be featured on Racing Together’s website, as well as on social media platforms using the hashtag #RTCommunityDay.
If last year’s Community Day is anything to go by, 2023’s event is sure to be a flying success. In 2022, more than 65 racing organizations gave back to their local communities, collectively volunteering over 2,000 hours. John Gilbert, CEO of the Racing Centre, recounted the day’s successes, saying:
“Newmarket racing-related businesses had an amazing opportunity to improve our local area this week: sign cleaning, litter picking and more. It was a fantastic example of teamworking and has made a visible difference to our local area.”
Helping Local Communities
Racing Together is keen to make this year’s event its biggest Community Day yet. The organization has come up with some suggestions to get people thinking about ways that they could give back to their local community. Participants could try tidying up their local area, offering staff extra training, supporting equine charities, hosting a fundraising event or making the most of their core skills.
The fundraising day will take place two weeks after the Coronation of King Charles III on May 8th. ‘The Big Help Out’ initiative is to be launched on the same day to coincide with the celebrations. People are invited to commemorate the historic moment by taking part in volunteering projects within their local communities.
Throughout the month of May, British racing’s volunteering efforts will form part of The Big Help Out and the Racing Together Community Day. The BHA is encouraging all types of racing organizations to get in touch with Racing Together and sign up to the initiative. After doing so, organizations can make a start on planning their voluntary activities with colleagues.
Those interested in doing their bit to help a good cause can find more details on how to sign up at the Racing Together website. In its press release, the BHA accepted that the racing calendar could make participation more difficult for some. Those who can’t volunteer their time on May 25th are encouraged to take part when they can and let the racing body know what they have been up to so that their efforts can still be included in the initiative.
At the end of April, Racing Together will hold a webinar to further discuss Community Day activities. The panel will include a combination of individuals that have taken part in the initiative in previous years, as well as those who have benefitted from the charity of participants. The talk will go into detail about why the day is so important and help those who want to take part to plan within their limitations.
Prize Money Boost for Races
Racing Together is British racing’s community engagement activity, and is made up of a partnership of charities and organizations that work across the sport to benefit good causes. The initiative is led by education charity Racing to School, and is guided by a subcommittee.
The initiative is keen to see racing viewed as a force for good by helping the communities in which the sport operates. By offering practical support and resources, backing ideas and collaboration, hosting seminars and facilitating nationwide initiatives, Racing Together has already proved successful in its ambition.
Last month, the BHA revealed plans to boost the prize funding of more than sixty maiden and novice races over the course of the year. The races are understood to be worth in the region of ￡30, 000 to ￡50, 000. The move comes as part of the BHAs’ long-term sustainability program for UK racing.
Funding will be provided by the BHA, together with breeding farms Darley and Juddmonte, with the aim of raising prize money for horses at the start of their careers. The races will run at a range of large and small racecourses across the UK. Hosting racecourses will support the prizes through additional contributions. COO of the BHA, Richard Wayman took the opportunity to thank both breeders for their generosity, stating:
“Juddmonte and Darley have been huge supporters of British Racing for decades and we are extremely grateful to them both for their financial assistance towards supporting this important part of the race programme. We look forward to working with them and other parties so that we can build on this significant first step in future years.”
The initiative is the first step in a journey that hopes to see further enhancements to the values of developmental races. Discussions around improvements for 2024 and beyond are still ongoing. As well as helping to kickstart the careers of young horses, the enhanced prize money will also serve other objectives, such as supporting the domestic breeding industry and ensuring that more quality horses bred in Britain are kept to race in the country.
